Every winter my friend and I jump on every opportunity to be outdoors in the snow and ice for extended periods of time. It started off with just winter camping, living out of our homemade shelters etc. Last winter we snow shoed in to Tonquin Valley (Jasper National Park), and spent a week in the mountains and enjoyed every bit of it. We attempted a few little mountains but we were smart about it. We knew our experience level and avoided things that could get us injured since we were on our own.

This year we would actually like to hire a guide to take us out so we can learn and move on to bigger things in the future. So far, the only place we've considered is Mt. Washington but unfortunately the ascent and descent only takes a day. We are looking for something that would take a few days but nothing more than 4-5 since we're still new to this.

Does anyone know any good spots that have guides working on the mountain? We're both students so we can't spend a stupid amount of money. Our trip last year cost around 3,000 after plane tickets, bus tickets, required gear additions etc and we wouldn't want to spend any more than that. We're currently living in Canada's capital so something way out of our way would probably be out of question. However we do realize we'll need to travel a bit to get near anything worth climbing.

I'm really excited to experience my first real summit and am open to any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance for your help and have a great weekend!

Edit: Perhaps taking a mountaineering/alpinism course would be a better option?

By Mount Washington, I assume you mean New Hampshire? If so, you can hire guides to do the entire Presidential Traverse from Madison to Crawford Notch. I think they do it in 3 days, and you are above treeline 90% of the way on some pretty amazing terrain. As for a guide, check out Art Mooney at Mooney Mountain Guides. He's an old friend of mine and one of the best guides in the State.

Every winter my friend and I jump on every opportunity to be outdoors in the snow and ice for extended periods of time.

As you are a student, you can begin to read as much as you can on what is an alpine climber. I suggest that you read on the history of climbing from Mt-Blanc to Everest to understand all the evolution of technique instead of just focusing on what the pro did.

Going to Mt Washington, Harvard cabin, is more than just one day of fun. There is many ridge where you can try duck walk, climbing with just one ice axe, cutting step, etc. At the beginning of a snow storm (first day) you can climb, with a competent leader, in a complete white out and learn how a snow slab built on severe weather and why it is dangerous to climb the day after with a bluebird sky. At the end, you can climb Mt Washington and do the traverse to Madison. In a shelter area, out of any avalanche path, you can built an igloo to stay for the night.

Close to the area, there is gothics north face, kathadin and more north la pomme d'or with one day cross skying one day to climb and one day to get out. Even Canon, black dike, with a night inside a bivy bag and the route to climb the next day...as you have to walk between the rock field can be a very exiting day. Personally, I went to a sand pit where we had cornice of seven or ten feet high. It is less dangerous than in the mountain, but I learned to be safe with that training.

After that, if you compare what you read and what you train, you will have many mountain project in mind, more than you can do. Do I recommend courses? With establish guide who don't climb as much as before. There reputation are built by people who take courses and they will teach you how to be safe when you going to climb (learning...training....climbing realization). They won't gave you a course just to have money for there next trip, they will gave you knowledge in exchange of good references to have more client. Some times you will think that it is too easy, but I had more than one close call by stupid think that those guide teach you.

Avoid guide who will gave you interdiction and the "standard method". The avy post in Mt Washington is a good tool to be safer, but in a remote mountain in british Columbia there will be no sign and at that moment you will know that training on mt Washington is safer than unprepared in your last climb. Have fun